Rokudaime Ceremony
by ice illuser
Summary: The Hokage ceremony is coming up, but there's one tiny problem. Everyone has to have a date, and most of the guys are as thick as boards when it comes to matters of relationships...
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Oh yes, I own Naruto! …not, how dumb are you?

A/N: Alright, this is my first Naruto fic, so please do not kill me. The characters are about 19 by now, okay? Anyway, I hope you enjoy this.

--

Shikamaru yawned, and lazily opened one eye to look at the clock. _…11:20…still can sleep 40 minutes…I deserve it anyway…_

He yawned again, and rolled over. The sheets were nice and clean, the pillow was very soft, and it was…not quiet, there were irritated stomps coming from the stairs.

He groaned, and pulled the pillow over his head. _Maybe if I ignore her…_

The door slammed open, "Shikamaru!"

He didn't move, and made snoring noises.

The irritated stomps got closer and yanked the pillow off his head, "I know you're not sleeping, you bum!"

He lazily opened his eyes again to see blond hair, and two angry blue eyes. "How troublesome…"

Ino snorted and grabbed his arm, "It's already 11:20, and _you're _telling me it's troublesome? Get up already, you only have ten minutes!"

Shikamaru sat up and yawned, "What's the big rush? I already did a mission yesterday, and handed in the report, Godaime shouldn't be sending me on another mission…"

Ino pushed him, "You _forgot_! How could you forget!"

"Forget what?"

Ino poked him in the forehead, "We're arranging the Rokudaime's ceremony today, remember? You're the Godaime's number one strategist, you have to be there!"

…_Rokudaime…ceremony…oh yeah, the troublesome thing Naruto was yelling about…_

He dragged himself up, "How troublesome…alright, alright, I'm going!" he said as Ino whacked him on the head.

"Don't forget to say hello to Sasuke-kun for me!" yelled Ino as he was leaving.

Shikamaru grimaced, and chose not to answer.

--

"What took you so long!" yelled Naruto, pointing to a yawning Shikamaru as he walked into the Hokage office.

Shikamaru waved a hand in a slightly apologetic manner, "…was really tired, just got up…"

"So what I was saying was, when I'm Hokage, I'm going to make a ramen holiday, what do you think?" asked Naruto, grinning.

Sasuke snorted, "What type of holiday is that, dobe?"

Naruto glared at Sasuke, "…I'm about to become Hokage now Sasuke-teme, so who's a dobe now?"

Sasuke glared back, "I'm the captain of the Anbu dobe, so even if I take orders from you it doesn't change who's a dobe."

"I'm _not _dead last!"

"You can't change your school records."

"Oh _yeah? _Well, I got farther in the chunin exams than you did!"

"_What? _You got Hyuuga, I got Gaara, there's a difference. Besides, I would have finished the battle if Orochimaru hadn't interrupted!"

"Neji was just as hard as Gaara!"

"Well, at your level back then, yeah."

"_Sasuke-yarou—"_

Sakura stepped into the middle, and blocked the punches of them, "Knock it off you two, or do you even want to become Hokage, Naruto?"

Naruto sat back down, muttering, "Well fine, but he started it…"

"Whatever dobe."

Sakura cleared her throat, glaring at both of them, and then began speaking, "Okay then, I know the Kazekage is going to arrive sometime tomorrow, so we'll have to send some people to greet him_—_"

"Huh, Gaara's coming tomorrow? Alright, first thing we should do is take him to Ichiruka_—_"

Sakura twitched, and punched Naruto in the head, "_Stop talking for one second, godamnit!"_

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "…so you can fight with him, but I can't?"

Sakura flicked a strand of pink hair out of her eyes, "You were fighting about pointless things, I'm trying to get our future Hokage to listen. Anyway," she said, flipping another page on her clipboard, "the Kazekage will arrive tomorrow, so we'll send Naruto, Sasuke, and some other people to greet them…the other Kages should be arriving sometime too. The ceremony itself will be next week; all of the Anbu will have to be there, as well as the clan heads, and most of the other shinboi. After that, it'll just be a big party, but you've got to act like a Hokage Naruto. Remember, you're representing all of Konoha."

Naruto rubbed his head, "That hurt…act like a Hokage? That's easy!"

Everyone rolled their eyes, "Sure…"

Shikamaru stood up, "Well if that's it, I don't see why I had to come…"

Sakura looked up from her clipboard, "Yeah, but as part of the Nara clan Shikamaru, you have to get a date."

"_What!"_

"It's not just you," said Sakura, flipping to the list of clans in Konoha, "every member of the clans, besides the children have to get dates."

Sasuke also stood, eyes flaring menacingly, "…who came up with this idea?"

Sakura sighed, "Ino-pig did…and the council supported it, said it told all the other countries not to try and steal our clans' special bloodline techniques…"

Naruto started laughing, "Hahahahaha! So all the "I'm cooler-than-thou" bastards like Sasuke-teme and Neji have to somehow ask a girl to the ceremony? This is going to be rich!"

"Shut it dobe, besides I bet you need a date or something too," Sasuke said, nodding at Sakura.

Sakura smiled, "That's right Naruto, you also have to have a date for the ceremony!"

Naruto's jaw dropped open, "Wait, _what! _ Why!"

"You're going to be Hokage, there's no way any of the council will want a foreign girl to smooch up to you."

Naruto scratched his head, "Okay then…why don't you be my date then, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura rolled her eyes, "No thanks Naruto, don't like you that way."

"_Please_?"

"I just said no!"

Shikamaru, noticing that the meeting seemed more or less officially over, said, "Well, I'm going now."

"Get a date!" Sakura called out, as he left.

_Sure, _he thought, _although the simple problem is, that girl doesn't see me as anything but a bum. It's always Sasuke this, and Sasuke that…She's too busy worshipping the almighty Anbu captain to even notice my shadow…_

--

Sasuke wasn't especially happy as he walked home. First, there were the usual matters of Anbu missions, but that was nothing new. Being captain of the Anbu always meant worrying about missions, but one learned to deal with the stress in time.

Then there was the Hokage ceremony. It wasn't that he minded Naruto becoming Hokage, no matter how annoying Naruto was becoming. No, at least now he wouldn't have to deal with the Godaime who occasionally drank too much sake on the job. It wasn't even the ceremony with the endless speeches, and equally endless gawking that would most likely occur when the Uchiha clan was called, as he was the sole member.

That was all just irritating; the thing that really worried him was the matter of a date. It wasn't the lack of girls that would accept him, that hadn't changed even after the whole Orochimaru matter. It was just…that he was worried he was going insane.

Every time he looked at Sakura he had the maddening desire to go up to her, wrap his arms around her, and just bury his face into her pink hair. Not the typical behavior of the captain of the Anbu at all, and to make matters worse, he couldn't figure out why.

Why of all girls did it have to be her? Sakura, who had seen him turn his back on Konoha, she who had seen the beginning of darkness when Orochimaru had given him the curse seal, she who had fought against him to bring him back…it just didn't make any sense.

The last thing was that there were still rumors of his brother drifting around. The Akatsuki were long gone, but his brother had still lived. There had always been rumors about the user of the Mange Sharingan, but they were much more persistant this time…There wasn't much he could do about it, he still longed for revenge, but…some things change. To some degree, anyway.

--

Hinata was carefully carrying boxes of medical supplies to the Hyuuga Main House, when someone rushed past her, causing her to drop a box. She leaned down, and was about to pick it up, when someone else did, "Oh hey, sorry about that Hinata."

Hinata could feel the heat rising to her face at the sight of the familiar blue eyes and blond hair, "Na-Na-Naruto-kun?"

Naruto grinned, "Yep, but anyway do you know where Neji is?"

Hinata stood up carefully, trying to balance the boxes, "Neji-niisan? No, Naruto-kun."

Naruto frowned, "Damn, it's hard to find him…"

"Why are you looking for him, Naruto-kun?"

"I want to see his expression when I tell him he's got to have a date for the Hokage ceremony!"

"E-eh!"

Naruto leaned back, "Yeah, all of the clan members have to get a date…even I have to," he added sourly.

"B-but Naruto-kun, you shouldn't have much of a problem, since you're going to be Hokage…"

"You really think so Hinata? Thanks!" he flashed a grin, and then sped off.

Hinata started walking again, berating herself, _why did I say that? Now he'll probably go and ask any girl, and she'll say yes, and I'll…I really don't know what I'm going to do. I don't think I can get a date…_ She chewed her lip, _I don't really like this…_

--

A/N: How did you like it? Constructive criticism appreciated, but all flames will be ignored. Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: No matter how much I wish, I do not own Naruto.

A/N: Wow, it seems like people have interest for my fic! Thank you, everyone who reviewed! Oh, and just to make this easier, Sai will not appear in this fic. I have no idea if he's a good character, or an evil one, so yeah…he's just too mysterious to write about right now.

--

Ino let out a laugh, and pounded the table, "_You're _going to get Sasuke-kun, forehead girl? I don't think so. Why do you think I even suggested that idea to the council anyway?"

Sakura smirked as she drank her tea, "Probably because you're too lame to catch the eye of any guy, so this way you can use the pity technique to get them to take you out on a date."

Ino snorted, "Oh really? I've got more sex appeal than you'll ever have Sakura and boatloads more admirers," she struck a pose, right hand behind her tilted head.

"But you still can't catch Sasuke-kun," Sakura pointedly said.

"I don't see him taking any interest in you," Ino said, dropping the pose.

Sakura twitched, and put the cup down, "…he will. I'll make sure of it."

"Oh really." Said Ino, leaning back, "What are you going to do? Sneak up behind him, and wrap your arms around him? Oh yeah, I forgot. You already did that, and nothing happened."

Sakura laughed, "Oh yeah, nothing happened, except that I snapped Sasuke-kun out of his evil curse seal form, while you were lying on the ground petrified!"

Ino waved a hand in front of her, "Excuse me, but I was saving _your _butt!"

"Sure, by taking over the body of that sound nin girl, which did _nothing, _may I remind you!"

Ino stood up, "Oh _yeah? _Well you weren't doing much either! All you did was randomly perform Kawarimi no Jutsu, and stabbing out with your kunai!"

"Better than you now Ino-pig, the only reason you have admirers is because your dad would kill them if they didn't ask you out!"

"_Why you—"_

"Hey, what are you two doing?"

Ino and Sakura turned around, a fist pulling at a hank of blond hair in Sakura's hand, a fist pulling at a hank of pink hair in Ino's. Tenten just leaned against the door, mildly amused, "No, don't tell me…you're arguing about Uchiha Sasuke again, aren't you?"

They both nodded, knocking their heads into each other.

"_Ow! _That hurt, stupid forehead girl!"

"I didn't make you bump _your_ head into _mine_!"

Tenten shook her head, "Jeez you two…anyway, Sakura, Mr. Hotshot Captain of the Anbu needs to talk to you about something."

Sakura let go of Ino's hair and looked up, "Really? What?"

Tenten shrugged, "Something to do with the amount of Anbu that should go with Naruto when the Kazekage arrives."

Sakura walked quickly to the door, looked back once and stuck out her tongue, then left.

Ino stood up, and brushed the dust off of her clothes, "Was that really what Sasuke said?"

Tenten grinned, "What, jealous?"

"As if!" Ino retorted, laughing, "You know that the only reason I keep on fighting about Sasuke with Sakura is because Sakura _needs _some competition if she's ever going to get Sasuke."

"I don't know," said Tenten, putting a finger to her cheek, "she seems to be doing fine on her own."

Ino shook her head, "Please, in the world of Sasuke-fandom, you need to be fast, or else all the other girls will eat you alive. Add the fact that Sasuke never pays any girl anymore attention than another, and a girl can really get discouraged."

"Which is why you're not obsessed with him anymore?"

Ino laughed, "I guess the charm wore off after he betrayed the village…"

Tenten shrugged, "That didn't stop some of his fans… Anyway, I heard you had some new plan for the Hokage ceremony; care to tell me what it is?"

Ino grinned, "Oh you're going to love this. All members of the clans of Konoha, and I do mean _all _of them besides the kids, have to have a date for the ceremony."

Silence.

"You didn't just say what I think you did, did you?" asked Tenten after she finally managed to recover from shock, "Because if you did…well, first of all, you're going to have Neji, not to mention Sasuke after your blood."

"I'm not too worried about that, they'll be thanking me in the end anyway…besides, now's your big chance again?"

Ino sighed and shook her head, "Dating 101 for you then…Neji has to ask someone. So there's the choice of you, or all his other fangirls. Which one sounds more likely to you?"

Tenten raised an eyebrow, "And what makes you so sure that he'll even want to ask me?"

"You're the only one he ever trains with; of course he'll ask you!"

Tenten let out a laugh, and shook her head, "Neji won't ask me. In fact, even if he did, not saying that he will, of course, I doubt the Hyuuga family will allow it. They have to keep their bloodlines pure after all…"

"That wouldn't stop Hyuuga Neji I bet. Besides, if it gets really bad, he could always take it to Hokage to be Naruto, and Naruto will definitely side with Neji."

Tenten shrugged, "As you say, but I really doubt he'll ask me…"

--

"No."

"But Kazekage-sama," pleaded the persistent official of the Wind Country, "you must wear the hat, it's the symbol of all the Kages!"

Gaara shook his head, "No."

"Kazekage-sama_—_"

Temari stuck her head in the caravan, "Just as a report, we are now in Konoha. Gaara, I think you should put on the hat…"

Gaara turned his black rimmed eyes towards his older sister, "I refuse to wear that idiotic hat."

Temari sighed, "Gaara…just put it on for a minute, you can take it off as soon as we meet Uzumaki Naruto."

Gaara considered this, "…fine," he stated flatly as he slowly put the blue and white hat on his head.

Temari sighed again, and jumped off the caravan.

"Problems?" asked Kankuro.

"No, just Gaara refusing to put on the hat…"

Kankuro snorted, "Well, he does look kind of stupid with it on."

Temari laughed, "…heh, a couple years ago, you would have been terrified to say anything like that."

"Yeah, probably. But thankfully, the 'little monster' calmed down a whole lot…"

"Yeah."

They shared a few moments of reflective silence before they finally caught site of the Rokudaime to be waving frantically, "Hey, Gaara! Get out here already, I've been waiting for hours, and I'm starving!"

Sakura and Sasuke both twitched at the same time, and hit Naruto on the head.

"You idiot! Stand up straight, stop acting like a kid, and act like a Hokage!"

"Dobe, shut up."

Kankuro winced, "Oh…that has got to hurt. Reminds me of the time I managed to steal your diary…"

Temari half-heartedly swiped at Kankuro, "You deserved that. But wow, you have to admit, the captain of the Anbu, and the Hokage's main advisor hitting the Hokage himself…"

"They can get away with so much here," Kankuro said, sighing.

The caravan came to a halt, and Gaara slowly got out, at the same time taking off the hat. The persistent official nearly had a heart attack, "_Kazekage-sama! _You must wear that hat!"

Gaara crossed his arms, "Nee-san said I would only have to wear it until Naruto arrived. He's over there, so I no longer have to wear it."

Naruto stopped his current argument with Sasuke to yell, "Hey, you're going to have to call me Hokage or Rokudaime soon!"

Gaara shrugged, and ignored the official's urgent protests.

"Anyway," Naruto cleared his throat, "I welcome you to Konoha as it is an honor to have the Suna in the village. Alliances will be built as the great celebration begins, and…" Naruto scratched his head, "…I don't remember the rest of it."

Sakura hit him on the head again, "I told you to memorize the speech!"

"But it was five pages long!"

Sasuke turned to the group, as Sakura and Naruto were still arguing, "Either ways, since the dobe forgot the whole speech, the gist of it was, enjoy your stay, don't attack us, if you do we will not respond well," he gestured to the five Anbu members by him, "if you don't we will have a nice celebration of the fact that the dobe becomes Hokage."

Gaara nodded and said, "We the Suna are honored to be here, we will remain peaceful, however if we are attacked—"

Naruto grabbed Gaara's arm, and started to run, "Blah, blah, blah, speeches are boring. Let's eat!"

Looking back at the pursuing Anbu, Gaara hesitantly asked, "…is this a habit of yours?"

"Yep, I sneak out every day, and most of the time Sasuke-teme can't catch me!" said Naruto, running right into someone.

Naruto hit the ground hard, "…ow….gah!" He saw Hinata shakily getting up from the ground, "I'm so sorry Hinata!"

Hinata stammered, "A-a-ano…no problem Naruto-kun…"

Naruto grabbed Hinata and pulled her up, "No really, I knocked you down yesterday too…okay, let's go." He took off with Gaara and Hinata in tow, followed by the Anbu.

"N-naruto-kun…why are we running?" asked Hinata after Naruto ducked.

"To escape Sasuke-teme and not die of starvation!"

"…I still don't know where you're taking us," stated Gaara, running.

Naruto looked at him as if he had sprouted cat ears, "Ichiruka of course!"

--

"Um, um, three bowls of miso ramen, two bowls of pork, and one bowl of beef please! Hey, what do you two want?"

Hinata poked to of her fingers together nervously, "Ano…I'm not really hungry…"

"It's lunch time Hinata, how can you not be hungry!"

"If it's not too much trouble…a bowl of miso ramen?"

"Yeah, that's their best! What about you Gaara?"

Gaara sat staring around, "…I don't care."

"One bowl of beef then! It's as good as their miso ramen!" said Naruto, ordering for Gaara instead.

The manager had just turned around to prepare the ramen, when Sasuke and the rest of the Anbu ran up. Sasuke's eyes were already Sharingan red, and his mouth was a slash on his face, "Dobe…"

Naruto grinned, "Hah, knew you couldn't catch me!"

Sasuke hit Naruto on the head (again), and leaned back, "…anyway, since you're going to be Hokage Naruto…"

Naruto eyed him suspiciously, "Yeah, what?"

Sasuke coughed and looked away, "…could you just get rid of that weird clans have to date plan thing?"

Naruto started laughing, "Sure Sasuke…I'll make it so only you and Neji will have to have dates, how's that?"

The Anbu member with the bird's mask on stepped forward, "Naruto…"

Naruto's grin grew even wider, "Oh yeah, you should have seen Neji's expression when I told him he had to have a date for the ceremony!"

"So do you!"

"Bet you it'll be easier for me than you!"

"Oh yeah right, girls just flock towards you, don't they?"

"Hell yeah they do!"

"They must only want you for the money!"

"What does that say about your fans then?"

As the three argued, the Anbu member with the dragon mask on sat down next to Hinata, "…well, this is entertaining, isn't it?"

Hinata nodded while eating, "It's very interesting, Tenten-san…"

"So, do you have a date yet?" Tenten asked, removing the mask, and shaking her head a bit.

"Oh no…"

Tenten nudged her shoulder, "Ah, don't worry about it, I know someone who's got their eye on you…he's just a little too dense to see it," she winked and put the mask back on.

Hinata sat staring at the ramen blushing. _Ah…someone who has their eye on me? Tenten-san must be joking…either ways…I don't really want to go with anyone besides Naruto-kun…_

She glanced at Naruto still arguing with Neji and Sasuke and smiled sadly, _but of course, he never sees me…_

--

A/N: That was pretty long, wasn't it? Please review, and give me some suggestions while you're at it!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own Naruto the way my friend owns Saiyuki. Guess what? My friend loves Saiyuki for the gore, but she doesn't own it.

A/N: So many responses! I'm really surprised, I didn't expect many…thank you! I decided to add some twists, so the pairings might be a bit indefinite for awhile…and I'm not telling what they are! (It won't be that bad, I promise.)

--

Neji waited patiently for Hinata, slinging his bag of body armor onto his shoulder, "Come on Hinata-sama, your father told me he wanted to speak to you about something…"

Hinata quietly caught up, unconsciously nervously rubbing her hands together, "What is it?"

Neji shrugged, "I have no idea…perhaps something about the Hokage ceremony?"

Hinata sighed and looked to the sky, "…Neji-niisan, would you tell me if you knew my father had arranged a prospective marriage for me by now?"

"Of course Hinata-sama."

"Has he?" Hinata quietly asked, still gazing at the sky.

"If he has, I have not heard a word of it."

"Neji-niisan…do you there is any chance…" she broke off, biting her lip.

"Yes Hinata-sama?"

"It's nothing."

Neji, after a few moments of reflective silence said, "If you are asking if your father will allow you to pick your own husband, there is perhaps a slight chance for you. You are the Main house's eldest daughter, but if you pick someone decently high ranked…" he trailed off and shrugged.

They continued to walk, until Hinata broke the silence and asked, "Neji-niisan, what do you mean by 'a slight chance for you'? Is it only I who have this chance?"

Neji flushed and muttered, "It's really nothing …just a slip of the tongue…"

The corners of Hinata's mouth turned up, "Is there a girl you have in mind, Neji-niisan?"

"No."

Hinata rubbed her arm, and quietly said, "I don't believe Tenten-san has had anyone ask her yet…"

Neji's face became expressionless, "Why does that matter, Hinata-sama?"

Hinata continued as if she hadn't heard Neji, "However, I have seen many guys flock towards her…"

Neji clenched his fists slightly, then said, "It's her business. Come, your father will not want to be kept waiting."

Hinata's small smile faded, "Hai."

--

Hyuuga Hiashi observed his eldest daughter in silence. While it was true that she had grown much stronger, and yes, that he had re-accepted her into the Hyuuga family, she still maintained a quiet shy demeanor that while fitting for a noble lady, wasn't quite the right personality for a Hyuuga family heir.

"Hinata…I assume you already know about the strange situation with the Hokage ceremony?" he said finally.

Hinata minutely scrunched up a bit, without raising her head, "Yes, father."

"Is there anyone you are considering?"

Hinata blushed, "Ah…"

Hiashi frowned, "Is there?"

"N-no, father…there really isn't anyone I think that would accompany me to the ceremony…" Hinata managed to stutter out.

"I see. However, I doubt that no one would take the Hyuuga Main house heir to the ceremony."

Hinata finally looked up, albeit a bit nervous looking, "I don't want to go with someone who just thinks of me as the Hyuuga Main house heir! I want to go with—" she broke off her sentence, and quickly looked away.

"Yes, who?"

Hinata shook her head and remained silent.

Hiashi sighed, "Hinata, you know very well by now that for all purposes I should have you engaged by now. However, obviously I have not in hopes that you would pick your own husband. But, if you do not tell me…I will have to arrange a man for you, and that would be enough of a gesture to be considered engaged."

Hinata bit her lip, "Father…"

Hiashi held up his hand, "I have my own suspicions, but if that person does not arrange to go with you to the ceremony within three days…I will be forced to provide someone else for you."

Hinata nodded slightly, and said softly, "Hai…"

They both stood and Hinata walked towards the door, slid it open, and walked out quietly.

Hiashi turned to Neji who was standing just a little bit outside of the door, "Well…do you think our honorable Rokudaime will take Hinata to his ceremony?"

Neji shrugged, "He's very dense, and Hinata-sama is too shy at times…however, perhaps there is a chance."

"In three days?"

Neji shrugged once again, "That's risky…but maybe it'll happen."

Hiashi nodded, "Good…by the way, have you found anyone yet Neji?"

Neji tensed, "…and how is this any of your business, Hiashi-sama?"

"It would reflect badly upon the Hyuuga family if you arrived without a girl…or for that matter, an unsuitable one."

"And what would count as 'unsuitable', Hiashi-sama?"

Hiashi shook his head, "I already know of your interest in the kunoichi Tenten—"

"I'm not interested!" Neji quickly interceded, although he could feel the heat rising to his face.

"However," continued Hiashi, "although she is the Weapons Master of Konoha…it would be preferable for you to pick a more…delicate girl."

Neji moved as if to leave, "I understand Hiashi-sama."

"I'm glad you do."

As Neji walked off, Hiashi smirked, _but for some reason I don't think that means you agree with me. _

--

Tenten carefully balanced her groceries along with her bag of body armor as she walked back home. _One day, _she thought as she carefully avoided the cracks along the path, _I am going to figure out a technique that includes balance and carrying tons of stuff at the same time…I did it with Soshoryu; it should be easy to do with groceries, right? _

Entranced in her thoughts, she didn't notice Neji until he tapped her on the shoulder.

"Gah!" she spun around, nearly dropping her stuff, "Don't do that!"

"Why?"

"Do you see all the stuff I'm carrying!" she shoved half of her grocery bags into Neji's arms, "Since you scared me, you can now help me."

Neji shifted the bags, "Hmph, and you want to be an Anbu captain…"

"What does carrying groceries have to do with that? Anyway, why are you here Neji?"

"What, I can't greet you anymore?"

"The almighty Hyuuga Neji does not just come by and greet the lowly likes of me when it's almost dinner time," Tenten dryly said.

"…"

"If you think you can score dinner off of me," Tenten added, attempting to sling her bag on more securely, "don't expect anything that good."

"…Tenten."

"Yeah?"

"You're going to the Hokage ceremony with me."

Silence, as Tenten just stopped walking.

"…say that again Neji? Because I could have sworn…"

"You already heard me. Hurry up; otherwise we'll be trying to balance these bags in the dark."

Tenten stared at Neji, then walked forward and put her hand on his forehead, "Are you alright Neji? It's really not like you to—"

Neji pushed her hand away, "I'm serious. You're coming with me, and that's final."

Tenten dropped her bags, "Excuse me? Neji, you know, before you decide these sorts of things, _you're supposed to ask the girl?"_

"Well, you don't have any plans for the ceremony anyway," said Neji, shrugging.

Tenten twitched, "What makes you think that I don't have any plans?"

Neji just looked at her, "Well, you don't."

Tenten stepped forward to punch Neji, but he easily stepped back and languidly blocked it, "Bastard! I'll have you know Hyuuga-dono, I have had herds of guys come to me to ask if I would go with them! Why the hell would I languish here, having nothing better to do, but go to the damn ceremony with you!"

"You didn't accept any of their offers, and you really don't have to show that much respect Tenten," he smirked.

Tenten picked up her bags again, "How do you know I haven't accepted any offers? What are you, a stalker?"

"No."

They walked in silence until they reached Tenten's small apartment, "…do you want something to eat?"

"No, good-bye Tenten," Neji said as he put the bags down, and walked off.

Tenten smiled slightly as she efficiently put the groceries away, "Stupid Neji…" she muttered, "…so stupid. Anyway, I guess I'll have to get a dress or something…."

--

Hinata smiled as she listened to Lee and Neji's conversation. Or rather, Lee celebrating with tears streaming down his face, while her cousin stonily watched him.

"Neji! I have just heard the most joyous news, Tenten and you are going to the ceremony together!"

"Yeah."

"Fantastic!" yelled Lee, causing everyone on the street to turn around and stare, "Ah, I can already see it…" his eyes began to get moist and sparkly, "Hyuuga Tenten, with three kids running around her—"

Gai popped up behind Lee, "What's this? Neji you are marrying Tenten? Yosh! The flame of youth prevails upon my other two students! What do you say, Lee? Will the two of them perhaps name their kids after us?"

"Who wouldn't want to name their kid after Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

They hugged with an explosion of sparkles.

Neji sighed and walked away. Hinata smiled, and began to walk to the hospital where she worked as one of the head medical nins, when she accidentally stepped on someone's shoe.

"Ah, sorry…"

"Watch where you're going bitch!" yelled the brown haired man, "these shoes are really expensive!"

"I-I'm sorry, I can pay you back…"

The man snorted, "Bet you can, you're one of those damn Hyuuga nobles, aren't you? In that case…" he wrapped his arm around her waist, "why don't you pay me back by going with me to the Hokage ceremony?"

Hinata twisted away, "No thank you."

"Hey, hey, you just said you would pay me back!"

"She offered to pay you, nothing else. But in showing the trash you really are, she really owes you nothing," said a cool voice.

The man spun around angrily, "And who the hell are you!"

Gaara calmly stared at the man, "Gaara, the Kazekage of Suna."

The man backed away, "G-gaara! Hey, I really didn't mean anything…bye!"

Hinata quickly bowed, "Thank you for helping me Kazekage-sama."

Gaara turned his gaze towards her, "…you're that girl that Naruto knocked down the other day, aren't you?"

"Ah, h-hai! I'm Hyuuga Hinata."

Gaara nodded slowly, "I see…"

He turned and began to walk away, but Hinata quickly called out, "A-ah, Kazekage-sama!"

"Yes?"

"A-ano, if you like, I could pay you back for helping me by showing you around Konoha…"

Gaara considered this for a minute, "…alright."

Hinata smiled, and bowed again, "Un, why don't we meet in front of the hospital around two? I get off of work around then…"

Gaara shrugged, and walked off again, "Sure."

--

Naruto snickered as the squad of Anbu lead by Sasuke ran by, "Damnit! Dobe, get your ass out here now, or I swear I'll chop you into a million pieces, and then Sakura will smash those pieces up, and then we'll both dump those fishes into the pond for the fish to eat. Or maybe we shouldn't do that…it might spoil the intelligence of the fish, and probably the taste as well…."

Naruto snorted as he watched them run off, "Yeah, yeah…doesn't matter though, I'm free! No more paperwork to do! How Tsunade-bachan dealt with all of it I have no idea…maybe that was why she was always drinking sake?"

He undid his transformation into an inconspicuous bush, and stretched, "Hm…I guess I could go see Iruka-sensei, maybe he'll buy me some ramen!"

He was about to walk off, when he saw a really unusual sight. Gaara and Hinata were walking together, and Hinata was smiling and laughing.

He rubbed his eyes, and looked again. No, still the same sight and now for some reason he didn't feel all that great. In fact…he kind of felt the way he did when he had first heard that Sasuke had gone on his won will to Orochimaru.

He quickly shook his head, and walked the opposite direction, _No that's stupid. Sasuke-teme running off was pretty bad, but why would I feel that way just because Hinata's having a good time with Gaara? She's probably just showing him around, nothing big…though why should I care? Has nothing to do with me, yeah, that's right. _

…_then why…_

--

A/N: Sorry for the wait, I was in San Diego…hope you liked this! Next chapter will probably be mostly Sasuke and Sakura, so sorry all Shikamaru/Ino fans! Please review and Gaara wasn't OOC was he?


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Look, if I owned Naruto, there would a lot more scenes with kunoichi in them, and we would actually know Tenten's last name. So obviously, I don't own Naruto.

A/N: Thank you everyone that reviewed, and seriously, when is Orochimaru going to die in the manga? He just stays alive…and it's getting annoying! I should just devote a chapter to Orochimaru bashing…anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

--

"See, I told you Neji would ask you," said Ino, sipping her drink, "and now that I think about it, I should have bet you…"

Tenten laughed, "Neji asked me because it was convenient, as he has absolutely no time or desire to get to know another girl. Besides, your wording is wrong Ino. He did not _ask _me, he simply decided it."

Ino shook her head, "Same thing. Either ways, you're set to go to the ceremony with a Hyuuga family noble."

Tenten twirled the straw in her glass, "…that's not really a good thing you know. I'm betting that Neji went completely against the Hyuuga family to ask lowly me to the ceremony."

Ino smirked and pointed, "Further proof of his love, right Hinata?"

Hinata quickly nodded, "I'm very happy for you and Neji-niisan, Tenten-san."

"Speaking of which," said Sakura slyly, "I heard that you were showing Gaara around Konoha yesterday Hinata."

"Kazekage-sama? Yes, I did. He helped me, so that was my way of paying him back."

Sakura grinned, "Well at this rate you're sure to have a date for the ceremony…or is this a ploy to get Naruto jealous? Never thought you had it in you, Hinata…"

Hinata blushed and began to wave her hands frantically, "N-no! I really was just showing Kazekage-sama around, and Naruto-kun…well, Naruto-kun wouldn't care, would he?"

Sakura thought about it, "Well, he's really dense as everyone knows, but…" she shrugged, "Who knows? Perhaps you're speeding up the process this way…"

Ino sighed as she finished her drink, "Another one please! So, forehead girl…got a date yet?"

Sakura crossed her arms, "And how's this your business?"

Ino laughed, "I see. So, you really haven't got Sasuke-kun to ask you out, have you? Knew it, you are really just not his type…"

Sakura also laughed, "So what's his type, you? Psh, dream on Ino-pig, he could do so much better than you."

"Then he is sky and space about _you _forehead girl."

"Really."

"Really."

"A-ah," stammered Hinata, staring at the two glaring kunoichi, "don't argue…"

Tenten shook her drink, "Forget it Hinata, they always do this, even though it's obvious Ino likes a certain someone else now…"

Ino spun around, "I do not!"

Tenten continued like Ino hadn't said anything, "A certain lazy bum that's a genius…"

Sakura gaped, and shot Ino a look, "…please don't tell me you like Kakashi-sensei, because that is just gross, he's in his thirties now! And he's going with Anko-san I think…"

Ino gagged, "Ew, no I do not go for men who read perverted books day in and day out. And Tenten has no idea what she's saying, _do you Tenten?"_

"Who also controls shadows and is required to take care of deer…" Tenten smirked.

Sakura's eyes went wide, "…no way. Nara Shikamaru? _You_ like _Nara Shikamaru_?"

Ino's face went red, "I do not like that lazy bum!"

Tenten yawned, "Better catch him while you can Ino, that girl Temari…well, you know how rumors go around…"

Ino twitched, and sat down slowly, "…really? Well, that doesn't matter. In fact, I wish Shikamaru good luck, since he is my best guy friend."

Tenten grinned and dramatically whispered, "Change one word…"

Ino screeched, "_Tenten!"_

They then proceeded to run around, Ino throwing kunai and shuriken at Tenten, and Tenten gracefully dodging all of them. Everyone else watched in wonder.

Tenten winked at the baffled crowd, "Trust me, once you get your own weapons thrown back at you with Kaiten, you get pretty good at dodging weapons."

--

Sasuke leaned back and laughed, "Well, well Hyuuga…you actually asked a girl and she accepted. I simply cannot believe it."

Neji also leaned back smirking, "At least I have a girl, you on the other hand…are sadly lacking one of the fairer sex."

"I have tons of fangirls."

"Yeah," said Naruto, from his bowl of ramen, "But the ultimate problem is that Sasuke-teme is a cold bastard, and therefore will be ever female-less for all ceremonies."

"You want to bet dobe?"

"Sure Sasuke-teme, it's not like you can beat me."

Sasuke's smirk grew even wider, turning it a bit evil, "I bet that you can't find and ask the girl that likes you before the ceremony."

Naruto blinked, "…_the _girl?"

Neji rubbed his head, "Uchiha, he's dense. Everyone in the entire village knows it. He's not going to be able to figure it out, even if she blurts it out in front of him."

"What? Who?"

"So troublesome…" Shikamaru sighed, "even I know about it Naruto…"

"Who is it?"

"Still, it means that he will definitely owe me money," said Sasuke smirking.

Naruto pounded the table with his fist, "What the hell are all of you talking about! Can't you give me a hint?"

Neji shook his head, "She's already given you many hints before, and the fact that you didn't figure those out simply means that anything we would say would simply be in vain anyway."

"I haven't seen any girl throw herself at me," said Naruto suspiciously, "Are you guys just trying to set me up?"

Sasuke laughed, "If that's what it takes for you to figure it out dobe, than you're going to be an old man before you find her."

"I'll definitely find her. But _you're_ never going to pick up the nerve to ask anyone out, Sasuke-teme," said Naruto somehow sneering and eating ramen at the same time.

Shikamaru yawned, "Well Uchiha, if you don't have a single preference to which girl you're going to take out, why don't you take Ino? In that case, maybe she'll stop shrieking into my ear, reporting every detail of her non-existent love life with you."

Naruto stared at Shikamaru, while slurping ramen, "…hey wait, I thought you were going to ask Ino!"

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, "And why would I do that?"

Sasuke snorted, "The way you two act is already as if you're married…or are you going to ask that Sand nin girl?"

Shikamaru's eyes went wide, "Temari! She's older than me! Besides, her brother would probably kill me…if she didn't first. Women are so troublesome."

Sasuke raised his hands, and shrugged, "Well, there's always been rumors of you two. Oh, and I'm not going to take Ino, she's…strange. I'll get some other girl."

Neji raised an eyebrow now, "Oh, now what's this? You're actually considering some girl, Uchiha? Amazing…but she'll reject you."

Sasuke's eyes went Sharingan red, and he glared, "She'll accept. You'll see." With that, he stalked out of the ramen stand.

Naruto sighed, tapping his chopsticks against the large bowl, "You probably shouldn't have said that Neji, Sasuke-teme still reacts strangely if we talk about the whole Orochimaru years…"

Neji shrugged, "It's reality however. Whatever girl chooses him now has to consider the fact that he did betray the village for the sake of power."

Naruto glared, and slammed his bowl down on the counter, "Sasuke-teme is the captain of the Anbu now. Whatever happened in the past, is just the past."

--

Sakura steadily walked home, still laughing a bit. _Ino and Shikamaru…I still can't really believe it. But, it makes sense I guess, they were on the same team. That takes care of them, but I still need a date…should I just ask Sasuke, or—_

"Hey," Sasuke said appearing behind her.

Sakura nearly screamed from fright, "Sasuke-kun, don't do that! You could give someone a heart attack that way!"

Sasuke shrugged, "Sorry, force of habit. You have to do that a lot in Anbu…"

Sakura smiled, "Yeah, fine. So…why are you here Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke looked down, and mumbled something quickly.

"What?"

Sasuke took a deep breath, and looked up unflinchingly, "Do you want to go to the Hokage ceremony with me, Sakura?"

Sakura stared at him for a few minutes. _Wait, did he just…? Sasuke just…_

It was still silent Sasuke turned, and laughed bitterly, "Never mind. You don't have to go out with me Sakura, if you don't want to obviously. After all, who want to go out with the traitor who—"

Sakura encircled his shoulders with her arms, "I don't care, Sasuke-kun. I thought I would have to ask you…did you finally figure out that I am the only one meant to be with you?"

Sasuke laughed, embarrassed, and gently removed her arms from his shoulders, "No. You're just the easiest person to ask, and since Hyuuga already has a date…"

Sakura rolled her eyes, "So this is really just a testosterone battle? Hmph, so even the great Uchiha family can't resist competing like this…"

"The noble families have always competed with each other, I obviously must uphold that tradition."

"Some tradition, it's just an ego thing."

They walked off arguing lightly, without noticing a slight rustle from the tree above where they had just been talking. Two Sharingan eyes with three spoke wheels appeared.

…_so otouto, you couldn't fulfill one goal, so now you're trying to fulfill the other one? It might work, the Uchiha clan obviously needs to be rebuilt…but I wonder, have you truly given up killing me? You went to Orochimaru for that one sole purpose…something I wanted to prevent at all costs. Should I have told you my true reasons for killing our entire clan? It probably would have brought about the same result however…you would not have forgiven me, so in the end there is no difference._

--

A/N: Did you like Itachi's appearance? Did he sound OOC, or is that just me freaking out again? I hope you liked this chapter, please review!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I can either be a fanfic writer, or the owner of Naruto. Which one seems more likely?

A/N: Sorry for the wait! So many tests and projects…it does make one's head spin. I hope you have liked the pairings, because it's starting to get a bit defined from here on out…and yes, other characters will probably make an appearance soon.

--

"Shikamaru!" screeched Ino.

Shikamaru turned lazily to look at his companion, "What?"

"Did you even hear what I just said!"

Shikamaru clapped his hands over his ears, wincing, "Not if you keep this up, because I'll be deaf…"

"Well?" asked a thoroughly pissed off Ino.

"Uchiha went ahead and asked out Sakura, and now you are furious."

"You're damn right I am!" screeched Ino, storming around the room, "Sasuke-kun was supposed to ask me to the ceremony! Now the ceremony is only in two days, and I still don't have a date!"

Shikamaru yawned, and looked out the window again, "Well, it's partially your fault in the first place for actually coming up with this troublesome date idea…"

"The idea is brilliant! Even you, the highest strategist of the Hokage couldn't have come up with a better message to send all the other countries!"

"Sure, if you say so Ino…" said Shikamaru, shrugging.

"Oh yeah, Choji found a date, right?" asked Ino, calming down a bit.

"Hm, yeah he did, it's that girl whose family runs the grocery shop I think."

"Typical Choji…" said Ino, shaking her head, "Oh well; he'll have a good cook in the family I suppose. That reminds me…Shikamaru, you haven't found a date yet, have you?" asked Ino, suddenly appearing very menacing.

Shikamaru looked behind his shoulder to make sure there was an escape route, "Too troublesome."

"You idiot Shikamaru! It's not that hard, all you have to do is ask a girl a very simple question—"

"Will you go to the Hokage ceremony with me?"

Ino nodded in approval, "Yes, that's the question. See, it's not that hard. Now, get out there Shikamaru and ask some girl to go with you to the damn ceremony!"

Shikamaru yawned again, "I just did."

"What? You already asked someone out? …well, that's nice I guess, but why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Shikamaru stared at Ino for a few seconds before saying slowly, "Ino, who do you think I just asked out?"

Ino shrugged, "I personally have no idea, although there have been many rumors of you and the Sand nin Temari…"

"Ino," Shikamaru said after a pause, "I just asked you out. Not Temari, you."

Ino goggled at him, "…what? When? Shikamaru, stop joking with me, I know I would remember if you asked me to the Hokage ceremony."

"Ino, I know you're kind of slow at times, but this is really pushing it. I just asked you when you were explaining how easy it is to ask a girl out."

"Wait…what!"

Shikamaru sighed, "And now I am waiting patiently for an answer from my perpetually deluded teammate."

Ino stared at him, before narrowing her eyes, "You're not just doing this because Sasuke-kun didn't ask me to the ceremony, are you? You can go with Temari if you really want to, I'm perfectly capable of finding a date myself, and not out of pity either!"

"What is it with the whole village and the relationship between Temari and me? There's nothing going on there, she does make a good teammate though. I asked you because it's less troublesome than to find some other girl. So what's your answer?"

Ino ran a hand through her long blond hair, "Well…sure."

Shikamaru smiled lazily, "Glad that's over…bye then. Uchiha probably wants to run through the whole placement of the Anbu strategy again."

Ino watched Shikamaru leave, and sighed. She paced around the room for a bit, before plopping down, grinning.

_Stupid Shikamaru, _Ino thought fondly, adjusting the flowers in the vase on her table, _I got over Uchiha Sasuke a long time ago. Although you are the most valued strategist, you still couldn't figure that out, could you? I just kept up the whole game so that Sakura could have some competition. I've been waiting to see who you would ask to the ceremony, although I did hope it would be me…_

--

Yamanaka Inoichi roared with laughter when Nara Shikaku told him the news.

"Shikamaru finally asked Ino out? Fantastic, all those other boys fawning for my princess' attentions were not worthy of even a glimpse of her!"

Shikaku stretched, "I'm so glad that you consider my son 'worthy'…but I hope he realizes that Ino is not going to be the quiet wife he said he wanted."

Akimichi Choza grinned as he ordered more food, "It must be the fate of all Nara men to be dominated by their loud wives. Choji on the other hand has a much better fate; he got a girl that cooks well."

Inoichi poured more sake for himself, "A good fate indeed. Ino can cook somewhat, but may no one let her near the oven…" he shuddered.

Shikaku nodded sagely, "Indeed. Remember those cookies when they were nine?"

Choza shivered, "Do I? I remember we suggested to Iruka that those things could be used as poison…a highly dangerous weapon indeed! Death in the guise of an innocent and pure cookie…"

Shikaku rubbed his head, "Did Iruka ever accept them?"

Inoichi grinned, "He probably did, I saw him talking to the Hokage the next day. My little girl was such a genius…"

The three friends continued reminiscing, and eating, and drinking for the next good part of the afternoon, before Nara Yoshino came in to drag her husband off.

--

Naruto sulked around the cliff. _Damnit, _he thought, idly tossing rocks around, _everyone seems to have a date now besides me! This is getting ridiculous, I'm the Rokudaime, I can pick whatever girl I want! …but everyone keeps on saying there's some girl that likes me. Damn, I wish I could figure it out…I know I've never seen any girl act the way Sakura does around Sasuke-teme…this is really complicated!_

"Naruto," said a quiet voice behind him.

Naruto whirled around to see Gaara standing behind him, "Oh, it's just you, phew, I thought it was Sasuke-teme for a second…he'll probably try to drag me back to the office just so he wins the entire bet!"

"What bet?"

Naruto shrugged, "He bet me that I couldn't find _the _girl who likes me before the Hokage ceremony, and the ceremony is in two days! This is impossible, everyone says it's so obvious, but I haven't seen anything!" He said, waving his hands around.

Gaara stood quietly for a bit before stating, "I think I know who it is too."

Naruto began tearing at his hair, "Gah! Why is it that everyone can see it but me? Does she act one way around me, then another way with everyone else? How am I supposed to find her that way!"

"Was it that black haired girl?" asked Gaara, seeming unfazed by Naruto's somewhat violent confusion.

Naruto stopped tearing at his hair, to stare at Gaara, "A black haired girl?"

Gaara nodded, "Yes, the one with black hair and pale eyes…isn't she part of that Hyuuga clan?"

Naruto stared some more, "A Hyuuga girl? Which one?"

"The one with shortish hair…Her name also started with an 'H'."

Naruto was by now positively goggling at Gaara, "Wait, Hinata?"

Gaara nodded slowly, "Yes…I think that's her name. The one that you dragged along with me to the ramen stand the first day."

"Wait, aren't you going to take her to the ceremony though?"

At this Gaara seemed genuinely confused, "…what? Why?"

"You guys were happily walking around Konoha the other day, it looked like a date, kind of," said Naruto, gesturing around.

Gaara shook his head, "No. She was showing me around, since I helped her."

"So…Hinata is the girl that likes me?"

Gaara shrugged, "She talked a lot about you, that's all I know."

Naruto grinned, "Well, whatever! Hinata is a great choice; I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner! She's fun to be around, and she won't do the weird simpery thing some girls have done ever since I've become the choice for Hokage. Thanks Gaara!" he yelled as he ran off.

Gaara continued to stand on the cliff, although there was now a slight smirk on his face, _She was friendly. She and you, Naruto…remind me of something, though I cannot name it at this time. Whatever it is, it is a happy feeling…ah yes. Those fairy tales Temari used to sneak in to tell me, before father caught her. Those tales were obviously foolish, but still, there is a slight similarity there._

_--_

Hinata quietly watched the sun set, from the long flower fields that the kunochi classes were held.

It was perfectly peaceful, with a small bird chirping here and there, until the sound of pounding footsteps alerted her.

She had just turned around, when Naruto burst into the field, panting.

She blinked, "…Naruto-kun?"

He caught his breath, and grinned, "Hey Hinata!"

"Ano…Naruto-kun…Sakura-san came by a little awhile ago…she seemed mad…"

His grin got wider, "Heh, they must be really pissed that I escaped from the evil paperwork again! Anyway Hinata, will you go to the ceremony with me?"

Hinata felt her face get hotter, _Is this a dream? Because, _she thought faintly, _if it is, I'm not sure that I want to wake up. _

Naruto worriedly waved his hand in front of Hinata's glazed eyes, "Hinata? Hello, Hinata? Are you okay?"

Hinata quickly snapped back together, "Yes, I am…ano, Naruto-kun? Did you just ask me to go to the ceremony with you?"

Naruto put his hands behind his head, "Yeah, but if you've already got someone else, that's find too, I mean—"

"Y-y-yes."

"Really?" Naruto's grin came back, "That's great! I thought that you were going to go with Gaara for awhile, you know."

"Kazekage-sama! No, I was just paying him back for helping me…"

"Alright then, then I'll see you at the ceremony Hinata!" saying that, Naruto grinned again, and then ran off.

Hinata pressed a hand against her heart, in a futile attempt to stop its fast beat. _Naruto-kun…I can't believe it! Out of all of the girls in Konoha, many much more attractive than I am…I thought he'd never notice me. Apparently, I was wrong._

--

A/N: Well, all the pairings are, set, and I think the next chapter may be the last one, or the second to last one. Please review!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, it wouldn't be dragging right now…seriously, Kishimoto-san seems to be losing his touch. What was the whole Sai turncoat thing? It was way too fast!

A/N: Sorry for not updating in awhile, it's been finals, and everyone knows how much studying goes with that…anyway, I think I'll make one more chapter of this fic, and then it'll be done. Oh yeah, this chapter has a couple of OCs, but they're pretty minor, so please deal with me.

--

The image in the mirror was quite elegant. Dark brown hair held back with silver needles, dark red kimono with the pattern of golden dragons printed on it, green obi, and red shoes.

Tenten glared at the image in the mirror. _I really don't think this is a good idea…I mean; this outfit will get in the way if there's a fight! This is so stupid…I should never have accepted Neji's offer! I mean, his whole family is made up of snobs! Even though I am an Anbu member, and the number one weapons specialist in Konoha, they probably will stick their noses so high that the sky will just be the beginning!_

A knock on the door announced the arrival of Neji, so she sighed, marched over to the door, and opened it.

Neji's eyes imperceptibly widened at the sight of Tenten, "…well, you do clean out well, don't you?"

Tenten glared, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Neji shook his head, "Nothing, nothing…let's go then."

Tenten shrugged, grabbed her Anbu dragon mask, and stepped out the door, "Yeah…by the way…what did your family say about all this?"

Neji looked at her, "What is 'all this'?"

Tenten shrugged carelessly, "Well you know, you're the Hyuuga's prodigy, while I'm this commoner who's only sourced of income happens to come from Anbu squad money…"

Neji raised an eyebrow, "That was what you were worried about, Tenten? Don't worry about my family, if they have a problem with it, they can tell me."

Tenten rolled her eyes, "What is it with guys and being masochistic?"

Neji smirked and shrugged, "…let's take our time."

Tenten groaned, "You just want to piss Uchiha off don't you? Since you know how antsy he'll get if we're late."

"Yes."

--

Sasuke paced back and forth, eyes beginning to show hints of Sharingan red, "Where are they?"

Sakura ground her teeth, fidgeting in her pink kimono with swirling green leaves, "They are so late…I told them to come before the ceremony!"

"They won't know where to set up!"

"This will mess up everything at the rate it's going!"

"I'm going to refute their salary if they don't get here in five minutes!"

"I'm going to charge them so much for the inconvenience that they'll have to file for bankruptcy!"

"If that damn Hyuuga bastard thinks he can just waltz in whenever he pleases, then I'm going to Chidori him until that hair of his is frizzed like an electrocuted cat!"

"Yeah! And then—" Sakura stopped mid rant to stare at Sasuke, "…what does Neji have to do with all this?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "…we're talking about how Neji's Anbu squad is late, aren't we?"

"No, I was talking about the firework people."

They stared at each other for awhile, and then burst out laughing. Right at that moment a small silver haired girl wearing a white kimono with a pattern of red flames ran in, with Neji and Tenten strolling in behind her.

The small girl ran up panting to the laughing couple, and quickly bowed, "I'm really, really, really, _really _sorry that I'm late! I was so busy mixing up special fireworks for the ceremony, that I completely forgot about the time, and by the time I was done, I was already fifteen minutes late!"

Sakura grinned, and waved her hand, "It's alright, just please go set up near the field, will you, Shiraha-chan?"

"Hai!" She ran over to the large cart that was sitting next to the steps of a pagoda, and quickly began carting it away to the fields.

Sasuke watched the small white head bob up and down, "…she's in charge of the fireworks! She can't be more than twelve years old!"

Sakura shook her head, "Looks can be deceiving, and besides, we were genin at twelve! Anyway, she's Kagayakashii Shiraha."

"Kagayakashii? …isn't that the family that's famous for its lanterns?" asked Tenten.

Sakura nodded, "Yeah, Ino bought a bunch of those to decorate the place too, but Shiraha isn't very interested with making lanterns. She's happier messing with things that go boom."

"An interesting obsession," stated Neji dryly.

"By the way Hyuuga," Sasuke said languidly, "I'm docking your paycheck for a week, along with Tenten's."

Neji shrugged, "Like I care, the entire Hyuuga estate has more money than you'll ever see, Uchiha."

Tenten twitched, and threw a shuriken at Neji. It hit about a centimeter away from his throat, "Neji," she began menacingly, drawing out five kunai from her sleeve, "although your paycheck might not mean much to you, that money is my _bread and butter."_

"If it's money you're worried about, I could always lend you some."

Tenten threw one of the kunai which landed on the other side of his throat, "Like hell, Neji! I have my pride too, you know!"

They stood glaring at each other for awhile, with Tenten clutching her kunai, and Neji calmly staring at her, until Lee popped up, "Ah Neji, have you finally proposed to Tenten? The power of youth triumphs! Right Gai-sensei?"

Gai somehow appeared behind the bushes, "Indeed it does Lee! What do you say Neji? Show us the exuberance of youth and embrace Tenten! In fact you can even go as far to kiss her—"

Tenten and Neji both landed a punch on his head.

"Idiot."

"Bastard."

"Let's go."

"Right. And you owe me at least 200 for my docked salary, which is your fault."

"Fine then."

As the two of them strode off, Sakura giggled, "Oh the two of them are in serious denial…"

Sasuke shrugged, "I don't know about that. I think they both know what they want, but that they just don't really want to act on it right now."

"You might be right, Sasuke-kun. Come on," she said, pulling his hand, "Let's go."

He stood up, still holding her hand, "Alright."

--

"Hinata! Try some of this stuff, it's really good!" said Naruto, happily gobbling up a brown dish.

"Ano, alright…" Hinata said, taking a careful bite, making sure to keep the long sleeves of her pale blue kimono with a pattern of light violet feathers get into the food, "…it tastes pretty good…"

"Doesn't it?" asked Naruto enthusiastically, "I have no idea what this tuff is, but it's good! I wanted all ramen, but according to Sakura, it wasn't 'traditional' enough. Oh well. Hey, Gaara!" he began shouting, waving his hand at the blue and white hat, "Get over here!"

Gaara walked quietly over, followed by a tall girl with black hair and red tips, who was wearing a black kimono with swirls of red on it, "Hello Naruto."

"Hey, who's the girl?" asked Naruto, grinning cheekily, "Your girlfriend?"

"My bodyguard, Issanni Chinoumi," introduced Gaara calmly.

"Pleasure to meet you, Hokage-sama," said Chinoumi, bowing.

"Why do you need a bodyguard?" asked Naruto quizzically.

"Formality reasons," they both replied quickly.

"Oh," Naruto nodded sagely, "I know, those are so annoying. Like, we can't have all ramen tonight, because it's not 'proper'. It's so annoying!"

"If you want, Naruto-kun," said Hinata nervously, "I could make you some after the ceremony…"

"You'd do that for me? Thanks a lot Hinata!" he said, grabbing her hands.

Hinata turned red, but quickly began breathing in and out, _I will not faint, I will not faint, _she thought fiercely.

"Are you okay Hinata?" Naruto asked, not letting go of her hands.

"I-I'm fine, Naruto-kun."

Chinoumi muttered under her breath, "So this is the pair, Gaara? They're so obvious, that it's amazing you even had to help them. This, by the way, is really strange. I mean, _you playing matchmaker?_"

Gaara shrugged, "I didn't play matchmaker, I just talked to both of them."

"Sure, whatever you say… Bet you ten fans that these two will get married."

--

"What do you think Shikamaru?" Ino asked, gesturing around the rooms, with the long sleeves of her purple kimono with patterns of blue clouds, where thousands of colorful lamps hung.

Shikamaru yawned, "They look nice Ino…"

Ino slapped the back of his head, "Pay attention!"

"They're just lamps…"

"Which I spent hours setting up!"

Shikamaru glanced around the room, then stated flatly, "The set up of the lamps is quite brilliant due to the fact that when set up in diagonals, they look endless. Also with the diversity of colors, it represents the variety of people we have at the ceremony today, and as one more detail, they provide lots of light. Happy Ino?"

She hugged him, "I'm so glad Shikamaru appreciates my lovely designs…now come on, let's go. Can't let forehead girl completely ensnare Sasuke-kun after all…"

Shikamaru followed, albeit a bit unhappily. _I'm the one who asks her to the ceremony, and yet she's still obsessed with Sasuke. Was this a bad idea? …girls are so troublesome. _

--

The ceremony progressed without too many hitches, although Sasuke nearly killed everyone who had whispered about Itachi when the Uchiha clan had been called. Then there was Gaara nearly doing a Desert Coffin on Kiba for insulting the hat (Chinoumi and Temari managed to stop him), Naruto nearly going on a rampage when he found out the really delicious dish was in fact, pig's ear, and the horrible incident of Gai and Lee doing karaoke.

Other than that, Sakura and Ino both considered the whole ceremony a success.

Meanwhile, Shiraha feverishly set up the fireworks, "Okay let's see…the D-12 goes right here, R-5 here, and K-7 goes here…ah wait! Damnit!" she quickly grabbed the largest firework, pushed R-5 out of the way, and set it up, "Okay good…my most special firework, S-3 is set up! Now where to put R-5…the Hokage would probably be mad if I didn't set it off…hm…"

She quickly set up the orange firework by the pond, "There! Now…here comes the fun part!"

She drew out a large pack of matches, and drew one out reverently. She swiftly struck it against her shoe, and then lit K-7. The green firework began to sputter, and suddenly shot up into the sky, bursting into the green symbol of Konoha.

She pumped her fist up, "Success! As celebration, after this, I am going to light a bonfire!"

--

Sakura grinned as she heard the happy cheering of Naruto when the ramen firework exploded into the sky, "He sounds really happy, doesn't he?"

Sasuke shrugged, "Personally he sounds pretty idiotic."

Sakura's grin grew bigger as she leaned against Sasuke, "Sasuke-kun…"

"What?"

She quickly turned around, pinned Sasuke against the wall, and kissed him.

They stayed like that for awhile, until they had to come back up for air. Sakura smirked at Sasuke, "…I'll see you around," and then walked away.

Sasuke leaned against a tree, covered his mouth, and snorted, "…I should have known," he then turned around, and looked up at the tree, "You can come out now, you know."

Silence.

"I know you're there…Itachi."

A black haired figure jumped out of the tree, and stood up, "Sasuke…it's been awhile."

"How long have you been watching me?"

Itachi shook his head, "You have the wrong question, little brother. It's really, how long have I been in Konoha. This, by the way, has been about a week."

Sasuke's eyes were already in Sharingan form, "Why?"

Itachi shrugged, "I didn't really have anything else to do since Akatsuki has been disbanded…so I came to see how you were doing on your goals."

"My goals?"

"Your two purposes in life were to kill me, and then rebuild the Uchiha clan, were they not? To rebuild the clan though, you would need a woman, of course…and here I see you've picked up a pink haired kunoichi."

"What of it?"

Itachi closed his eyes and smirked, "Nothing really. Since you have completed one of the goals, and I have seen Konoha's new Hokage, I will take my leave of you."

Sasuke hand began to crackle with Chidori, "What's to stop me from completing all of my goals?"

Itachi shook his head, as he jumped out of the way, "One day you'll figure this whole mess out, foolish little brother, but until then, worry about other things."

--

"The fireworks are really pretty, aren't they, Naruto-kun?" asked Hinata, brushing a strand of hair away from her face.

"Yeah…" he said, staring at her.

Hinata blushed, _…what am I supposed to do?_

"Hey Hinata…"

"Y-yes, Naruto-kun?"

"Dance with me, why don't you?" he asked pulling her to her feet, in the direction of the dance floor.

"H-hai…"

--

A/N: Yes, the pairings haven't completed themselves completely, have they? I'm saving that for the last chapter…so please review!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I dream of owning Naruto, but that doesn't count as actually owning it, or else beggars would ride horses. (Or really, cars now.)

A/N: Sorry for not updating sooner! First I got writer's block, and then my Internet went down. Anyway this is the final chapter of my first really successful fic…I'll put down my last words at the bottom. Anyway, please enjoy this chapter!

--

Ino adjusted Sakura's veil to fall more naturally across her face, while lamenting, "I can't believe you made all the bridesmaid's dresses pink! Why couldn't you have made it purple or something? We all look like cutesy little innocent angels, when we're really kunoichi!"

Sakura snickered, "What you really mean Ino-pig, is that pink looks horrible on you, so you want purple."

Ino yanked the veil to the left, "Shut up Sakura, unless you want me to mess up your hair. Now hold still, there are still a couple of things to put in…"

"How the hell do you walk in these things…" muttered Tenten examining the pair of black stiletto heels allotted to her.

Ino pirouetted while adding the white flowers to Sakura's hair, "It's not that hard, just find your center of balance, and strut your stuff."

Tenten continued to stare blankly at the heels, while wondering what the least humiliating thing that could happen was.

"A-ano, I'm not really sure about this…" said Hinata, blushing as she smoothed out her strapless pink and blue dress.

"What are you talking about? You look great! Naruto will probably drool all over himself when he sees you in that!" exclaimed Sakura, tapping her fingers lightly.

"It's just…" Hinata turned to examine her back in the mirror, "I usually don't wear dresses that are like this …"

Tenten snorted as she jammed her feet into the evil shoes, "You think I usually wear these types of shoes? We're all wearing stuff we don't really want to wear…except for Sakura."

"Yes," said Ino irritably tugging at her light pink dress, "so be happy Hinata that you actually got some blue in your dress. Forehead girl over here was happily putting this all together…and even now she won't listen to reason!"

Tenten sighed as she pulled at the skirt of her dark pink dress, "Yeah…why did you pick all these odd colors Sakura? Come to think of it, why did we have to put you in charge of everything?"

Sakura stuck out her tongue, "Well yeah, it's my wedding!"

--

Sasuke had begun pacing, while Naruto fidgeted in his suit. "Neh, Sasuke-teme stop pacing already! If you keep it up, you'll wear a trench in the wood, and then Sakura will fall in!"

Sasuke didn't even bother to look up, "Shut up dobe."

"Hey, you're the one who made me best man! I didn't ask for it!"

"I said shut up," Sasuke said, easily hitting Naruto's head.

"Ow! Godamnit, you'd think that getting married would make Sasuke-teme less bastard-like, but no, it makes him even more of a bastard!"

"Is that what you actually hoped for, Naruto?" asked Shikamaru, yawning, "That won't happen in a million years…although, whenever Sakura has kids, you'll probably see him running around like a headless chicken."

Naruto doubled over with laughter, "Neh, and his hair already kind of looks like a chicken butt, so it'll work out perfectly!"

Sasuke stopped pacing to glare, "Shikamaru, talk when you actually manage to confess to Ino. Naruto, is your brain too tiny to even comprehend the four simple words of _shut the hell up?"_

Neji opened his eyes, "Better start feeling more cheerful soon, Uchiha. Sakura won't be happy if she sees you glaring at everyone…"

Sasuke snorted, "Like you can talk…"

Just then the doors burst open, as a black haired lady came striding in, yelling at Shiraha, "You idiot! Sakura-san said to put those fireworks at the _back of the building, not the front!"_

Shiraha clamped her hands on her ears, "Alright, alright, Meikashi! Sheesh, I swear that you're going to die of a heart attack one day, if you keep up like that!"

Meikashi waved her hand to the side, "I will deal with that when it comes then, but you have to hurry and move those fireworks, because I've got the ice sculpture coming in five minutes, and the culinary people are still busy setting up the tables…" She suddenly smirked evilly and began to play with a dagger she had drawn out of her sleeve, "And if they're late, I can take out my stress out on them…it should add a few years to my life…"

Shiraha rolled her eyes, "Sure, whatever you say."

As Shiraha ran off, and Meikashi ran off to supposedly track down the ice sculpture, none of the four men spoke a word.

"…who was that?" Shikamaru finally asked.

Sasuke shrugged, "Kagayakashii Meikashi, the older cousin of Shiraha. She's a professional organizer of events and is supposedly one of the best, so Sakura hired her."

"But what was that…dagger? Does an organizer need one?" Naruto asked, his brow furrowed.

Sasuke once again shrugged, "…she's kind of strange."

--

Despite Meikashi's rants of how "incompetent all of you idiotic morons are, I swear if you're any slower I'll toss you into the Forest of Death, and get one of the giant bugs to suck out all of your intestines, and then I'll take your empty body and dump it in the tomb of Orochimaru, and then we'll see what that sick snake bastard does, hm?" everything got in place at the right time.

Naruto was still gasping at the impressive ice sculpture that was shaped like a pyramid, with Sasuke's and Sakura's name engraved into it, when the first notes of the wedding march filtered in.

Shikamaru quickly used Kage Kubi Sibari no Jutsu to drag Naruto away from the ice sculpture, and onto the podium. Unfortunately, this resulted in Naruto sprawled on the floor, while shouting, "Shikamaru you bastard! What did you do that for!"

Sasuke kicked Naruto in the head, "Dobe, shut up, and get up."

Naruto mumbling words around the lines, "Bastard, thinks he's _so _important," when Hinata shyly stepped out from the door.

That shut Naruto up quickly, although his mouth was hanging open. Neji smirked and shook his head, until Tenten came tripping in all the while cursing the heels to the seventh level of hell. For once in his life, the infamous Hyuuga Neji was gawking with an open mouth.

Shikamaru looked at both stunned men, and sighed. _So troublesome… _He thought the same thought again, when he saw Ino strutting out. _Indeed, very troublesome. She looks very nice…I really should do something since Sasuke's getting married; I mean I have a better chance with Ino now, right? Or should I just dream on?_

Sasuke had been standing ice sculpture straight since the music started, and by the time all three of the bridesmaids arranged themselves in a triangle, was frantically adjusting his already straight tie.

Then Sakura stepped out from the door, and Sasuke swore that he had to be dreaming. She was stunning in a long strapless bridal gown that was intricately stitched with the pattern of small blooming flowers. Her pink hair had been carefully drawn up in a fancy knot, with white and red flowers pinned in, as the veil fell lightly across her face. Her hands clutched a bouquet of sakura blossoms, daises, and roses.

She gave him a smile, and his hand froze in the position of fumbling with his tie.

Naruto by then had come out of his daze, and elbowed Sasuke, "Sasuke-teme," he hissed, "wake up! You still have to talk a bit you know."

Sasuke blinked and tried to pull himself together, but by the time Sakura had joined him and reached for his hand, he couldn't stop the goofy grin that stretched across his face.

--

Tenten groaned in disgust when the priest announced that, "You may now kiss the bride," and Sasuke and Sakura became lip locked. "…I know that they have to kiss each other, but no one said to make out in front of all of us!"

Hinata, blushing, timidly suggested, "Maybe they feel really, really, happy?"

"Still!"

After a minute had passed, Ino gave up trying to be patient and yelled out, "Hey forehead girl! Make out later when you guys have some privacy alright?"

The two of them broke apart, slightly flushed and blushing. Sakura covered her mouth with her hand, and then tossed the bouquet into the air.

A crowd of screaming females dashed for it, but it landed straight in Hinata's arms.

"W-w-what!" she gasped, holding the flowers away from her incredulously, while blushing the entire time.

"Hinata's getting married next! I knew my aim was good!" Sakura called out.

At those words Naruto flushed, and felt the weight of a small box in his pocket.

--

"That stupid forehead girl!" Ino ranted, stabbing her cake, "She could have thrown the flowers at me, I mean she bought them from my family's store!"

"Well," Shikamaru said carefully, "maybe Sakura wanted to give Naruto and Hinata a bit of a push? You know how they are. Besides, even if you did get the bouquet, who would you marry?"

"I have someone in mind," Ino confided, face turning red.

Shikamaru abruptly stopped chewing, "Really?" he finally asked, "Who?"

"Oh, I'm not telling you Shikamaru. If I tell you, then he'll know, and I want him to ask me on his own," Ino stated chomping down on the cake.

Shikamaru stayed quiet, not even eating his cake.

Ino noticed this after a little while, and waved her hand in front of his face, "Hey, are you there Shikamaru? Hello? Heeeellllooo? There are no clouds around here, so you can't be focusing on those…are you alright?"

Shikamaru abruptly looked up, "Ino."

"Oh good, you're back. Anyway—"

"You can scream at me after this, alright?" he interrupted, right before he crushed his lips against hers.

Instead of jerking her head back and tearing his head off, Ino locked her arms around Shikamaru's neck, deepening the kiss.

They finally broke away for air.

"…aren't you going to yell at me?" Shikamaru finally asked.

"Why would I?"

Shikamaru considered this confusing question, then asked, "What about that guy you said you wouldn't mind marrying?"

Ino raised an eyebrow, "I was talking about you."

Shikamaru blinked, sighed, and then ran a hand through his hair, "Women are confusing besides just troublesome."

Ino laughed, and reached for him, "Shut up and kiss me."

Shikamaru obliged. Who knows how long they would have stayed like this, until someone coughed lightly. They quickly broke apart, blushing.

Meikashi tapped her foot, and mentally sighed. _Weddings are annoying…I have to herd lovesick people around. _"The fireworks are about to start. I suggest that you two get out there pretty fast."

"A-alright," Ino said, quickly getting up. "Ah, by the way how do I contact you if I need something like a party organized?"

Meikashi smirked, "Planning to have your own wedding soon? Well it's good business, so I really don't mind. Anyway, I assume you already know where the Kagayakashii compound is, since I remember you buying a lot of lanterns…just go there, and ask for Meikashi."

"Thanks," Ino said, then grabbed Shikamaru's hand, "Come on, let's go! It's the same person that made the fireworks last time, so it should be really good."

--

As the Uchiha fan symbol burst onto the sky, Tenten snuggled into Neji's chest, and inclined her head towards Shikamaru and Ino who were holding hands, "It looks like they finally figured it out."

"About time," he agreed, wrapping his arms around her.

They watched as green leaves shimmered through the sky, "It seems that fireworks girl came up with some new ones," Tenten suggested.

"Yeah," he said, planting a kiss at the corner of her mouth.

"Actually talk to me Neji, because we are not going to engage in a public display of affection."

Neji snorted, and nodded towards Sasuke and Sakura who were basically wrapped all over each other, "You should probably tell them that then."

Tenten averted her gaze, "It's their wedding day, so they're allowed to do that, despite the fact that I really don't want to see that. But after this…oh I am so kicking Sakura's butt for making me wear those torture devices." She glared at the kicked off heels.

Neji smirked, "You really don't have much balance do you?"

"Those things are evil, _you _try balancing on things that are like needles."

A shriek suddenly rang through the air, and all the guest's heads jerked up. Tenten and Neji were already on their feet when Hinata called out quickly, "S-sorry! It's just…ano…yes."

Naruto grinned until it looked like his face would split; "**_Hinata's going to marry me!"_** he finally burst out, and then quickly kissed a fiery red Hinata.

A brief moment of silence followed the exclamation, and then the whole field burst into applause. Shiraha considered it a good moment to set off the sparkly heart firework, and let it explode into the sky.

Some people pushed forward to congratulate the Hokage and the blushing Hyuuga heiress, as Tenten and Neji sat back down.

"Well…" Tenten began.

"Naruto is now my cousin-in-law," Neji emotionlessly announced.

"It won't be that bad I think," Tenten said, putting a hand on top of his, "it was about time anyway right? Two years of dating…"

"Maybe. He really better not run around the house stuffing ramen everywhere."

"Mansion you mean."

"Oh well," he gathered her in his arms again, and they sat watching the vivid display of fireworks.

--

Meikashi pinched the bridge of her nose, and counted silently in her head to ten, before beginning to push the drunken sods out of the reception room. The few that dared to protest or hit on her, she simply pressed the point of the dagger against their backs until they guided themselves out of the door.

"That was fun, wasn't it?" asked Shiraha, happily washing the soot off of her hands.

"Please define fun," said Meikashi, irritably sinking into a chair, "if it is chaos and plastered men running around, then oh yes, it was fun."

"Oh come on, it wasn't that bad. You got another job out of it, didn't you?"

"Oh yes," Meikashi said, massaging her head, "the Hokage and the Hyuuga heiress' wedding. It'll probably be a lavish event, but Hokage-sama would like me to make all the food ramen."

"Ramen is good," Shiraha stated flatly.

"It is, but still."

"So…how do you think all the couples will do?"

Meikashi put her hand against her chin, "Uchiha-san and Haruno-san, I would say will be a bit chaotic at times, but fine. They'll probably have a lot of kids running around… Hokage-sama and Hinata-san won't be too chaotic, and pretty happy. Hyuuga-san and Tenten-san I bet will be the next ones to get married, and perhaps weapons will be flung at times, but they'll work it out. Nara-san and Yamanaka-san will definitely be the most chaotic, but it'll be fun."

Shiraha grinned, "So you'll have a lot of business right?"

"Oh indeed."

Shiraha sighed, "And they'll live happily ever after."

Meikashi rolled her eyes, "So cliché, but yes, more or less."

--

_Owari_

--

A/N: …I'm done! I feel so accomplished! Anyway, I want to thank all of you who reviewed for all your support, so thank you so much! As background info, here's information on the OCs (who I hope were to your liking). The age is by the end of the fic.

Kagayakashii Shiraha: Name meaning- Glittering, white feather

Background- A bit of a pyromaniac, who discovered matches then fireworks at a young age. She obsessively studied fireworks, and is now considered the firework expert.

Age- 14

Personality- Happy, pyromaniac, and lazy at times.

Issanni Chinoumi: Name meaning- Top speed, sea of blood

Background- Grew up in Suna, and is in a family of bodyguards. Being very proficient, she was eventually picked to be the Kazekage's bodyguard. She likes her job, even though she doesn't really have much to do.

Age- 19

Personality- Slightly morbid, calm, and loves blood.

Kagayakashii Meikashi: Name meaning- Glittering, death-life

Background- Can make lanterns, but had been given the role of planning the parties from a small age. As such, she decided she could make a business out of it, and did.

Age- 21

Personality- Loves the quiet, but almost never gets any. Slightly irritable, prone to headaches, sarcastic, slightly violent, threatening, but overall efficient.

And that's the end. I hope you'll read more of my fics! Ice Illuser saying goodbye, and once again thank you! (But don't forget to review.)


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